Condensed and Curated.

Turkish Government Approves State of Emergency, Suspends Human Rights.

As the number of people suspended, fired or detained entirely by President Erdogan’s purge passes 40,000, the Turkish government has announced that it will temporarily partially suspend the European Convention on Human Rights.

With this decision the Turkish government also announced that it has enacted a 3 month state of emergency, giving Erdogan and his cabinet the ability to pass law and legislation without the approval of the Turkish parliament, though it must give updates to the secretary general of the European Council

The government has claimed that it intends to use these new powers to further persecute those behind last week’s failed coup attempt, with Erdogan saying that it will not affect the law, freedoms or democracy.

The history of Erdogan’s government, however, would indicate that these powers may be used to further restrict freedoms and consolidate power within the president. It is also expected that the powers will be used to restructure Turkey’s security and intelligence forces.